


We Will Be

by amourlamonde16



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-29
Packaged: 2018-03-18 05:53:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3558563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amourlamonde16/pseuds/amourlamonde16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(TEAM DELUSIONAL) Beth Greene is back, alive, but not undamaged. <br/>She and Daryl rekindle their relationship, Maggie and Beth mend theirs, Team Family still wolves in sheep's clothing. <br/>Mostly the struggles of a young woman who has gone through a near death experience and Bethyl. <br/>(don't like Bethyl or the Beth and Daryl pairing don't read, although I don't really see why you would anyway)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first fic on this site! Whoop!  
> Please comment, I love seeing what people think, and I do sometimes take suggestions.   
> Enjoy!! :)

When Beth opened her eyes she found it strangely unsettling to see a regular ceiling above her head.   
It was unusually alarming despite her hopefulness for a better, brighter, safer, life. Yes, as much as she wanted to, she didn't trust it. Not one bit. Everything reminded her too much of Grady. The only thing that made it different was that her family was there. Safe and sound, besides Noah, and they even had some new additions to the group.  
She got up slowly, pushing the covers back with gentle, considerate, movements, and sliding her legs off of the bed, her dream replaying in her mind.   
She was outside of the walls again, back in Atlanta, running from Walkers with Dr. Edwards right behind her and Morgan in front. The monsters were snarling and groaning as they ran through the woods, not necessarily afraid of the Walkers, but of their lack of strength to fight them, finding not even a crawl space they could wedge themselves into for a moment of safety and rest.   
Those damn Walkers had just kept growing in numbers while Beth was recovering at Grady. Piling into the parking lot in mass quantities.   
They would have left sooner if not for that blockage outside the hospital, especially after Morgan showed up, barely escaping the hoard even with the help of one of the Grady cops. And besides the Walkers, Beth needed time to heal some more, and Dr. Edwards was in no way prepared for the outside world. Her mood didn't help her recovering either, an expression only a notch or so above a scowl commonly found on her face. But when Morgan came, got fixed up by Dr. Edwards in the room across the hall, and started talking about an ex-cop with the last name Grimes, and how he was tailing him, Beth's mood had lightened considerably.   
He knew where her group was. He knew Rick. Once she was better, she could find her family.   
And now she was with them again, after months of trailing after them on foot.   
With a deep breath, Beth stood up slowly, trying to be careful now that she was prone to near violent headaches as she focused on the cool floorboard beneath her feet. Luckily all she got was a pang, like most normal mornings, and she sighed in relief. But that feeling only lasted a minute when she walked downstairs to find no one there. Not Maggie, not Glenn, and not even Dr. Edwards, who Maggie insisted share a residence with them.   
In her panic, Beth's hand instinctively went to her hip, where her knife, or really her replacement one, always was. But it's wasn't anymore, since she was considered a patient to Dr. Edwards, and she felt alone very suddenly.   
Alone, but not helpless.  
She could take care of herself, she had been doing so for quite a while actually. Morgan pretty much saved himself, but she figured it was because he knew she was capable. She'd even had to teach Dr. Edwards a thing or two with a gun while they moved on their slow, aching, journey.  
No. Never helpless.  
She squared her shoulders, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a knife from one of the drawers as she made her way to the back door.   
She calmed her vibrating senses as it opened, holding her knife at the ready, until a familiar head of dark hair came through the entrance, midnight eyes connecting with hers instantly.   
It was Daryl. It was someone familiar, someone whose presence comforted her, and she let her stance relax. The atmosphere settled in a comfortable awkwardness, him standing there, silently examining her to make sure she was okay, and Beth just letting her heart rate slow.   
She'd probably never get used to Alexandria.   
“Ya' alright?” he asked quietly, double checking.   
Beth nodded, looking down at the knife in her hand, rolling between her palm and her fingers.  
After another moment of silence Daryl held something out, fidgeting as he waited for her to look up. When she did, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.   
It was a journal. A small green leather one with a little chord that tied around a knob to keep it closed. She took it slowly with her free hand, unraveling the chord until it came free, allowing her to open the book and look inside. The paper was a little discolored, but definitely not in bad shape. She was sure if she requested it, Maggie could find her a pen or a pencil, but she wasn't even sure she knew what she would write.   
Suddenly Daryl cleared his throat, earning Beth attention, which caused him to shift from his left foot to his right shyly. She saw him shrug lightly, his eyes moving nervously from her to some little wooden statue Aaron had brought her as a welcoming gift. “I just thought... Ya' know... It's somthin' ta' do. Writin'.”  
Beth closed it carefully before pulling it close to her chest, still messing with the knife in her other hand. “Th-th-th-than-n-nk,” she stuttered, hating that she had to struggle so much to get a single word out of her mouth. She gave up quickly, pulling her little green gift closer to her for comfort.   
He stared at her then, solely on her, and she could feel his guilt pouring from him in an endless flow. But she didn't have anything in her that could tell him the truth, that it wasn't his fault, that it was her choice, and her burden to bear. Not his. These where the consequences of her actions, but at least she was alive, and mostly well.   
It was still frustrating though. She could barely speak now, some words easier than others, but mostly she preferred not to try, except around Dr. Edwards, but that was because he was one of the only people who could really help her with it. She stayed silent and brooding. Mostly alone, because she had never felt more like an outcast, her disability making it even harder to maneuver through social occasions, the few that she'd gone to.   
Looking at him, their eyes seeing deep into one anothers, just like that day at the funeral home, she decided to try something that Dr. Edwards had suggested. She tried singing the song that had been going through her mind ever since she'd been kidnapped by the Grady officers.   
“A-and we'll buy-” Daryl's eyes widened. “Beer to shot gun... We'll lay in the lawn... And we'll be good...” The words spilled out, the tune slightly off, but it didn't matter. Her gratitude plain and clear on her face, and Daryl gave her the same look he did during their last meal together.   
“Yeah,” he said softly, nodding lightly as he stuffed his thumbs into his jean pockets. “These are good people... I think we will be.”


	2. Good To Be Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small interactions.

Beth didn't know what to think about her new clothes. They were clean, and really soft, which was nice, but she felt... _Odd_. Looking at her reflection was even more unsettling. It seemed, out of place, and not just her outfit, but everything in Alexandria. Especially the people...

She didn't like looking at herself in the mirror, especially when she suddenly looked all neat and tidy, closer to how she looked before. But this image was tainted... it was like the blood on Beth's hands from everything she'd done was seeping through the clean clothing. Like there were never enough layers to cover her scars.

She absentmindedly touched the small risen mark on the far left side of her forehead, pulling away once she realized what she was doing, that heavy feeling pulling her heart down heavily and dragging it across the floor.

Shaking her head, she adjusted her black sweatshirt and leaned down to pull on her cowgirl boots before walking out into the hallway, going back into her room momentarily to grab a pen and her journal. She wanted to write a bit outside, maybe under on of the pretty trees by the side of the road a few blocks down.

She descended the stairs to see Maggie and Glenn standing there, discussing something seriously. The conversation ceased as soon as Beth came into the room, and she tried not to let it bother her, but she could tell it was something important. She wasn't a kid anymore, and hadn't been for quite some time. Her sister really needed to stop treating her like one. Beth got a bit frustrated for a moment, but it dissipated as soon as Beth saw Maggie's eyes lighting up with joy at her presence.

Beth knew the hug was coming and even held out her arms before her sister came to her, smiling a bit as Maggie squeezed her tightly. Maggie barely let Beth out of her sight anymore, let alone out of lunging range, just in case. Beth knew her sister held a lot of guilt for not looking for her sooner, but Beth understood Maggie better than anyone else. Her sister got mild tunnel vision when it came to high stress situations, so when she thought all of her family was dead, she just focused on finding one person at a time. She was happy Maggie was able to find something to keep her going. Without her sister's search for Glenn, she might not have stayed alive. So, Beth was most certainly over it, and besides all that, she had her own things to deal with. Worrying about the past was a mute point.

“You look so pretty!” Maggie said, all smiles as she held Beth's shoulders at arms length.

Beth just shrugged while giving her sister a small smile, not feeling pretty at all, but grateful for the compliment.

Spying her brother in-law over Maggie's shoulder, she waved to Glenn, who waved back lightly, a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he watched the sister's happy embrace.

“You goin' out?” Maggie asked, noticing Beth's boots and giving her a worried look.

_Oh no_...  Beth was bracing herself for the oppressing words of her overprotective sister.

Beth was thankful for it in the end, no matter how annoying it was sometimes.

Beth nodded her chin towards the door, stuffing a hand in her pocket. “A w-wa-walk,” she replied, shifting her shoulders a bit. Speaking always made her feel so uncomfortable nowadays.

Maggie looked back at Glenn, and he rolled his eyes, pushing off from the island stool and walking over to the girls, kissing Maggie on the cheek as he did stood beside her. “Beth'll be fine,” he reassured her sister, smiling at Beth. “She can handle herself. I've seen her out there, she's damn good. And besides... She's safe here.”

Beth tried not to laugh at that.

No one was  _ever_ safe  _anywhere_ . Her time at Grady, and with Morgan and Edwards out there, had taught her that. 

Yeah, she liked Alexandria, but she wasn't an idiot. You can build fences and put up walls, but not all enemies can be kept back by decent engineering. In fact, the most dangerous ones always find a way in.

Maggie was being very indecisive, and Beth really needed to be alone for a little while, so she slowly inched her way towards the door and let herself out as Maggie expressed her distress to Glenn. Her sister kept spewing out little “buts” but Glenn calmed her down as Beth waved a small goodbye, closing the door behind her and quickly marching across the lawn.

She heard Maggie call out, “Be home by 6!” as she made it to the sidewalk, and Beth's cheeks burned at that, this group of young women about Beth's age snickering from one of the other house porches.

God, it felt like high school all over again, except she was playing a different role this time. Instead of the sweet farmer's daughter, she was the tortured outcast.

The only people who seemed either not to care or not to mind Beth's behavior and current handicap were Aaron and Eric, both of whom she loved instantly and dearly, and Daryl, who knew her the best out of anyone, even her sister.

As she thought of him, remembering the look he had given her when he saw her face again, she conveniently spotted him across the way, maybe a block down, talking with Rick and some pretty girl with light brown hair.

Said girl was smiling and laughing, with Rick returning the looks like the wolf in sheep's clothing he was, and Daryl... Well, she couldn't see his face.

This girl though, she made Beth feel... Inadequate. Like something chipped, shattered and scarred that may have been beautiful once, but wasn't anymore, set awkwardly next to something shiny, pretty, and brand new.

Not that being beautiful was really on Beth's mind all that much. At least not the outward kind.

Being alive, seeing her family, taking a hot shower... Those thing were true beauty. And it wasn't that she truly disliked her scars. They did represent, in a way, everything she had overcome. A piece of her actually really liked them... But when girls like that, all curves and pretty smiles and perfectly markless skin, talked to Daryl, it made her feel like a nobody. Just some scary 18, almost 19, year old who spent most of her time alone, had a curfew set by her older sister like some preteen, and wrote nonsense in a journal given to her as a gift.

She had received Noah's too, but she could barely go near it let alone

Beth only watched for another moment, taking a quick moment to pull her sleeve down over her scarred wrist and to move her hair so it better covered the small bullet shaped reminisce of her near death experience. Then she hurried off, going to find the tree to sit by herself.

She found one in a fairly unoccupied area and plopped herself down, sighing as she pulled the notebook out and thought about what to write. In the silence of a nice sunny day, you would think it would be easy to come up with something to scribble down, but Beth was honestly drawing a blank.

She had a lot she could write about. Her time at Grady, her “adventures”, as Glenn put it, during her journey to find her family. She could write about her time with Daryl, and the “serious piggy-back” along with the redneck brunch and moonshine.

But all those things felt so private, and Beth knew that Maggie, Glenn, and probably Dr. Edwards, would end up flipping through her notebook. Plus, she wasn't in any mood to relive Grady or her time with Morgan and Dr. Edwards. Those were rough, tough, near hopeless times, when she knew, or at least thought, that no one was coming...

She scribbled something down, a single word -a name really- and stared at her now messy handwriting.

That five letter name held so much meaning for her after everything they'd been through. He helped her keep going when she wasn't sure she could, and she knew that somehow, she'd helped him too.

She wrote it again, this time a little bit nicer, her movements slower as she pulled the pen across the page. Then she blinked, staring at the more improved version.

_Daryl._

“What'cha writin?” that familiar gravelly voice broke through her thoughts and she jumped a bit, her now wide eyes shooting upwards to see the one and only Daryl Dixon standing in front of her.

She shrugged, going to snap her journal closed, but he was already peeking. In a flash she knew he saw his name in it, and there was a moment of silence as she quickly tied the chord to close her notebook. Daryl just looked at her for a few seconds before plopping down in front of her. At least he didn't run off like she'd expected.

Actually, she'd noticed a shift in Daryl's attitude recently, though she guessed that this change had happened during her time away, because everyone else seemed to have accepted it. The lightness of his stature and the airy quality about his walk was ever present, and she'd also seen him smirking a lot more, listening and chuckling at jokes, and she knew Aaron and Daryl got along really well. It was a sweet, unexpected friendship, but she was beginning to think that those were the best kind. She, herself, had made a decent friendship with Eric, who had nothing but compliments to give, and didn't seem to mind her silence. In fact, he filled up the empty air enough for the both of them, always letting her contribute to the conversation whenever she could, which made Beth happy.

There was another long stretch of silence, and Beth felt the need to say something important. They hadn't really gotten a chance to talk, what with Daryl going off for weeks at a time to bring people back to Alexandria, with Beth's frequent check-ups with Dr. Edwards, and Maggie practically attaching herself to Beth every chance she got. Beth needed to express everything she never got a chance to talk with him about, and that she still really couldn't now. Eventually, after deciding to just go for it, Beth opened up her journal again, feeling more comfortable writing than talking.

She scribbled her words down, then showing it to Daryl, who glanced up at her before shifting his eyes to the page.

“ _Thank you. You looked for me when no one else did. You believed I was alive. That means more to me than I could ever express in words._ ”

He scoffed, shrugging lightly. “Was nothin',” he said, relaxing a bit, that light quality seeming to appear again.

She shook her head, calling on her muscle memory to help her speak what she could. She opened her mouth wanting to speak, but then thought better of it, and she pulled the notebook back to herself, writing out another sentence.

“ _It isn't nothing Daryl, it's everything. While I was out there, knowing that all of you thought I was dead, I didn't know if I could keep going. But I did, because it's like you said, I did change. I am strong, and you helped me realize that. I used the skills you taught me to stay alive and find you... I thought of you, Maggie, Glenn, and all the Grimes', and coming home, because you are my home_.”

He read it, and then read it again, and then brought his hand up, chewing his thumb as he obviously considered his answer.

Beth smiled lightly when she realized he was struggling, leaning forward out of impulse to press a kiss to the tip of his nose. He looked up just as her lips missed his nose, and their lips brushed instead. They both froze under the contact, but neither pulled away. Beth held that gesture for a moment, eyes wide, before she leaned back, messing with the journal's chord shyly.

She hadn't meant to actually kiss him, but that's what happened, and really... Oh well, right? No point in apologizing for it, and she didn't really want to anyway.

“What was that for?” Daryl grumbled, his voice a bit more gravelly than before. He was obviously embarrassed.  “I ain't no white knight... Ain't no hero.”

Beth felt her chest bloom suddenly, the reality of what lay beyond those metal walls no longer at the back of her mind, but shoved in a little further, almost forgotten.

“ _That's right_ ,” she wrote down, a wide, sloppy grin lightening her features. “ _You're Daryl Dixon, but that's close enough for me._ ”

Daryl scoffed, pulling one knee up so he could rest his elbow on it. Beth started humming, that familiar melody coaxing them just as it always did.

“Hey,” Daryl said in a soft interruption, staring her dead in the eyes.

She stopped humming, returning the stare to show that she was listening.

“Edwards... He said ya' need some speech therapy or somethin'?” Daryl asked, and Beth nodded, opening her journal again.

“ _Yeah, but he said that even with years of it, I may never speak normally again._ ”

Daryl nodded, considering that for a moment. “Mind if I help?”

Beth raised an eyebrow, jotted a sentence down, and smiled as he read it.

“ _You just love teaching me in the Redneck ways, don't you?_ ”

Daryl smirked. “Yeah, fed ya' a Redneck brunch an' everythin'.”

Beth's smile stayed put while she watched him from under her blonde lashes, remembering the moments they had shared before their time together was cruelly robbed from them. Sometimes she wished she could go back to when it was just them against the world, but it was better this way, logically speaking at least. There is strength in numbers.

But maybe now she could have both... Her family and Daryl Dixon.

“ _Sure_ ,” she scribbled down. “ _I wouldn't mind learning how to speak Redneck_.”

“It ain't no foreign language,” he muttered. She giggled and he smirked, his eyes watching her with a careful light.

There was a moment that they just stared at each other, him chewing on his thumb, her smiling wide at him. Only at him.

“'S good ta' have ya' back, Beth,” he said.

She liked the way her name sounded off his tongue.

She nodded, and wrote, “ _It's good to be back, Mr. Dixon_.”

 


End file.
